The Coliseum
by Silver Phantom 2
Summary: Crossover. StarFox is stolen from the Lylat System and taken to a new and fearful world where they are forced to become gladiators. Seperated and lost, Fox must fight for his freedom and his life.
1. Chapter I: MCCLOUD

Author's Note: This is a huge crossover. Almost every Sci-Fi i can think of. However the main character is Fox and this story is pretty much about him, Krystal, and Falco. But the other characters come into play as well. I think you'll like it. Note that the first few chapters are going to be short and probably not that enjoyable. Trust me, it'll pick up very soon.

Starting in Chapter 3, there'll be a nameless character from one of the Sci-Fis in each chapter. I'll tell you from where they're from and you'll have to guess from there. It's just for fun. I'm not going to send you 50 bux if you figure it out. Anyway, enjoy.

FYI, this story is written in the same format as one of my favorite authors Jeff Shaara. (I'm currently experimenting with writing styles).

The Coliseum

By Silver Phantom 2

1. MCCLOUD

Two years prior, Fox McCloud, lead pilot of the StarFox mercenary team would have done anything for a little peace and quiet with his love interest, a very beautiful, blue vixen named Krystal. However, that was then. Today, he wants nothing short of knocking the heads off of a few Titanian terrorists.

He tapped the communicator on the side of his head as best he could without making too much noise, "Falco. You in position?"

"I'm in position." Falco responded with a very short lapse time.

"OK, I'll throw a couple grenades to confuse 'em. Then, you bird drop." Fox whispered.

"All righty, just gimme' the signal."

Fox took out two grenades from his belt. He held his machine gun in the other hand and checked it for ammunition. _Safety off_.

The red vulpine flipped the visor back over his eyes and said, "Show time." Fox jumped from behind his cover and threw the grenades high.

Space Dynamics Co. Ltd. owned a lot of warehouses even on distant Titania. The thing was, what happened inside their cleared-out warehouses was unknown to them. In the middle of hundreds of stacked crates were a dozen well-armed terrorists discussing their next attack on the Cornerian capital.

They all looked at Fox and watched his grenades land. One landed on the middle of the table. It sat there for 5… 6… and then 10 seconds. Nothing happened. Fox hadn't pulled the pin.

_I hate it when that happens. _

The terrorists all turned their weapons at Fox and prepared to open fire.

"Waaaaaaa Hoooooooo!" Falco pushed open the air vent and dropped directly on top of the table spraying lead fire everywhere.

Terrorists turned to Falco and fired Fox returned it. The battle raged a dozen versus two. Falco swirled around the enemy while the enemy completely forgot Fox existed.

Suddenly, the room got very, very hot. A burst of light. No one could see anything. Then they were all surrounded by walls of golden light streaming down around them.

That's when Fox first saw them.

"Uh… Krystal? Slip? Are you seeing this?"

No answer. For the next few minutes, Fox knew that StarFox and the Terrorists were on the same side now. Four beasts, Fox couldn't describe what they looked like, appeared from outside the walls of the light. They walked inside and raised their arms which held strange weapons.

Fox raised his machine gun and let loose. Bullets pinged off of the strange armor harmlessly. A strange purple vapor oozed from the weapon and invaded Fox's weapon. He squeezed the trigger.

The weapon was useless. Fox threw it to the ground and crouched into a fighting stance, "Come and get me alien scum!" he shouted.

For the first time since the fight began, Fox looked at Falco. His best friend was lying on the ground. Blood oozed from the sided of his mouth. _Falco…_

Fox launched himself at the alien beast. It hit him to the floor. Fox fell.

He felt nothing. Then it reached for his face…

Then nothing.


	2. Chapter II: SPARTAN 117

2. SPARTAN-117

This was _not_ Earth.

It was a lie. Sadly, he knew, it _was _Earth.

Earth… if the Covenant controlled it.

If they ruled it.

Which, in this case, they did. This was Earth, and it was under the Covenant Empire.

John Spartan-117, usually called the Master Chief, had just returned to Earth only several hours ago on board a Forerunner ship controlled by the last remaining Covenant Lord, the Prophet Truth. He had landed in Africa, near the Rift Valley. And he knew why.

The Ark.

The Covenant wants it.

But they weren't going to get it.

The Master Chief would be sure of that.

He stared off into the valley. A Banshee flew over his head and into the valley. Where it met with hundreds of other Covenant ships. Cruisers. Carriers. Seraphs. Banshees. Thousands of them.

They all converged at one point in the valley which seemed to be excavated. Covenant ships used tractor beams to lift open seven doors until they reached a point where they opened by themselves.

A bright white light emerged. Probably having never been released for well over a hundred million years, it shed its light to the heavens and to the Master Chief's eyes. The Master Chief knew what was inside there. Two things: the activation codes for the remaining five Halos, and the Flood. No doubt, the Gravemind had minions there.

Either by the "Great Journey" or corruption by the Flood, the Earth would be destroyed. And the human race would be extinct.

Unless the Master Chief did something about it.

Suddenly, behind him a great light, which shamed the one before him, appeared and out walked two monstrous creatures made of machine and metal. Only the Chief couldn't tell which was which. What was it? A new Covenant trick? Some weird Flood form? Whatever it was, it raised a strange weapon and then attacked him.

The Chief was blown off of the cliff. He plummeted to the ground below.

Only half way to the bottom, he saw nothing. And heard nothing. He didn't know where he was. But was positive it wasn't Earth.


	3. Chapter III: LOMBARDI

3. LOMBARDI

Fear was not something Falco Lombardi liked to talk about. Especially among his closest friends and allies, Fox, Slippy, and Krystal. And right now, he was genuinely afraid.

However, he maintained his cool and decided to try and comfort, as best he could, his team mates. Despite being against his character and Fox or Slippy might ask if he was sick. Falco was willing to take that risk, "Are you guys all right?"

"I would be if I could see." Fox said.

_I bet Krystal knows what's going on…_Falco thought. He tried to send a message to Krystal by simply thinking, _Krystal…_

_What? _Came a voice in his head.

_What's going on? _

_I don't know. They're putting us in a large holding cell. I can sense dozens of other people. Some Lylatian and others not. _

Lylatian? Falco didn't know there were Non-Lylatians.

_Where are we? _He asked.

_Not in the Lylat System. Not in the same universe. We're far, far away. _

Sorrow filled the Avian's body. He felt sorry for their team. For Slippy who must be very, very scared. He'd never been in any sort of hostage situation before. If that's what this was. But for some reason, he thought it was going to be worse… much worse.

Finally, his blind fold was taken off. Falco looked around the room. It was big. Almost as big as the _Great Fox_'s bridge. It was dark, dank, and wet. About two dozen ape-looking creatures in what looked like some foreign kind of battle armor sat around the hold looking drearily at the newcomers. Falco tried to hold their gaze. It was filled with fear, sadness, confusion, anxiety, fatigue, and death. Most of them were male. There were a few females that looked twice as scared for the men. Falco immediately knew why.

"Monsters." He whispered under his breath. One of the big aliens pushed him deeper into the hold. Falco wasn't ready and fell to the ground. Fox and Slippy soon followed him. The same alien that pushed him took off his helmet.

Falco eyes nearly bulged out of his socket. The ape was the same creature underneath the armor as those in the hold. Why would they be enslaving their own species?

The ape made some kind of face at Krystal that anticipated his next move: he tore of her blindfold, and then he tore off her shirt with one hand holding her shoulder and the other on her breasts. Krystal screamed as quietly as it was possible to scream. The ape kissed her violently.

Krystal was helpless to do anything. So were Falco and Slippy. Fox believe otherwise. He jumped up and charged at the ape, "Get off of her!" he screamed, barring his fangs and tearing at the ape.

Before he could even get close to either him or Krystal, another ape in full armor slammed him against a wall, "Stay back!"

They could speak!

The first ape that held Krystal spoke, "No… he appears to have some kind of connection… make him watch."

"NO!" Fox screamed. He thrashed to no avail.

What happened for the next two hours was the most violent and horrific thing Falco had ever seen in his entire life. He wanted to tear his eyes from his socket and strangle the aliens with his optic nerve. But he knew it was just a hopeless fantasy that would gain him nothing. Falco just stayed and watched. He owed it to her. He owed it to Fox.

While Krystal had to endure the malicious and unforgiving pain of rape and torture, Fox was held back and his eyes pried open. He was _forced _to watch as his only love was taken like some kind of involuntary BDSM play thing.

_What kind of Godless monsters are these? _Falco asked himself. He looked over to the other prisoners in the hold. None of them watched. They looked like they were trying to drown out the noise. To just be at peace.

To just die.

The female soldier who had gone through the exact same thing Krystal was facing now turned towards them and screamed, "Stop it! Stop it!" but it was impossible to understand the way she slurred it with the volume and hoarseness of her voice.

Finally, it was over. The alien's gave Fox one final beating and through him against the wall. The monster put Krystal down on the floor and left her there. Falco wasn't sure if she was dead, alive, or just unconscious. When they left, he walked over to her to find out.

The woman on the other side of the room was still screaming, this time to herself, "Ah! They're everywhere! Just leave me alone! Please…" she was sobbing an ocean in her own tears.

Falco picked up Krystal and handed her limp body to Fox. Fox held her close and cried into her. Falco knew he was praying. Praying for everything to just stop.

The girl on the other end of the room continued to cry and talk to herself and the imaginary aliens who were tormenting her. Krystal and Fox had each other…

Falco walked over to the girl. He bent down and tapped her. She looked up at him with soft, green eyes, "I'm sorry." He said, "Everything's going to be all right. It's ok…"

The girl crawled over to him and put her head on his chest. She wept silently and held him tight. Falco sat down trying not to disturb her.

For the first time in his life, Falco prayed.

_Our Father, deliver us from evil… or I will._


	4. Chapter IV: WIGGIN

4. WIGGIN

The coliseum in Kaalin was not exactly a very nice place to be. For one thing, the coliseum itself was barely held together by a couple of twigs. And just generally, coliseums were not nice places to be. Andrew Wiggin (usually just called Ender) knew exactly why.

Ender was once tricked into destroying an entire species known as the Formics. While he saved the human race in the process, he also unknowingly landed himself a price for the Cuotl gladiator market. He ended up being sold to a rich nobleman called Ix here on Kaalin.

Ix had paid approximately 1460 Timonium for Ender but he enjoyed the results. Ender became the best commander for his gladiators that he'd ever had.

Ix owned nine other gladiators. Among the more renown of them were Captain Malcolm Reynolds and Samus Aran.

During practice sessions, Ender had learned to use Mal like Alai had once been: able perform every order with flying colors and be trusted with over half the fleet, er, team. Ender still thought of his gladiators as a fleet like he was taught in Command School.

In the arena area, there was a Common Game in the process. Common Games (CGs) were comprised of two teams of four that played a game of capture the flag in a circular area with plenty of platforms and barriers. The teams playing were Green-Yellow-Orange and Brown-Black-Brown. Both teams were formidable with renowned heroes on both sides.

In the arena, Ender watched from the sidelines. A human of African descent, on the Green team, was chewing on a cigar butt as he fired his weapon at a human in white armor and a T-shaped visor, on the Brown team. The black human shouted something and pointed to his left. Another human in white armor but with a very different-looking helmet ran to the left and sprayed the lead fire at the other white armored soldier.

The Clone Trooper screamed and fell to the ground. Red leaked from the wound in his shoulder.

"Go, go!" the black soldier said.

The Storm Trooper ran ahead of his obvious commander and fired his weapon at a Brown warrior.

The Brown soldier ducked and rolled. The Storm Trooper's aim wasn't very good. He missed horribly and paid for it by having a bullet implant itself through his helmet and in his face. But the Brown Soldier didn't last long when the UNSC Sergeant shot the Brown soldier in the face.

The game ended with the black man bringing Brown-Black-Brown's flag to Green-Yellow-Orange's base. He implanted the flag in the depression. Lights on the floor protruding from the center flag point lit up like blood through an upper vein.

The man raised his gun and emptied his ammunition into the air and screamed a war cry: "Victory!"

Ender walked back over to his teammates: Mal, Samus, and a UNSC Marine named Jack Freian. Samus was the oldest in the group next to Ender. Jack came next. Mal was the newest addition to the crew. He was still getting used to the fact of having to answer to someone since the Unification War ended. Especially someone far younger than him.

Still, Mal made a good warrior and a good commander even under the strange circumstances. Of course, this was strange. This was the real world.

"Mal, Samus, Jack." Ender said. The three perked up and looked at him. Mal had adopted UNSC armor for his personal use. Samus had kept the helmet from her Varia armor but had changed the rest of her armor to go with the UNSC look but still personalized, "Get ready. We're up next."

"What're we waitin' for?" Mal said.

Ender knew that he meant it.

Answer to Chapter 3: "…with _soft green eyes_…" this female soldier who was obviously raped is the very underplayed second in command to Major Silva in Halo: The Flood, Melissa McKay.


	5. Chapter V: MCCLOUD

5. MCCLOUD

It seemed like years till the light finally emerged through the door of the slave hold. It slowly filled over the course of a few days with more and more slaves until the light finally came. The food was horrendous and disgusting, but it kept them from starving. Krystal ate nothing since the rape. Fox was reluctant to eat as well, but he encouraged Krystal to nibble.

She took a bite and threw it back up. The Cerinian was horribly sick. She was no doubt scarred for life. Fox was sure that he was as well. What scared him the most was when Falco showed some genuine affection for the girl who was raped before they ever got on the ship. At first he thought it was just Falco trying to hook up with a chick while she was weak and looking for someone to love her.

But in his heart, Fox knew that Falco was showing true compassion and sorrow for what he knew she had gone through. He wasn't sure what the girl's name was. He didn't even know if she talked to Falco.

Slippy had spoken with some of the other slaves in the hold. They called their species _humans_. One of the humans named Mendoza had said that he was stolen in the middle of a war with the _Covenant _on a world called _Halo_.

Fox's amphibian friend learned much, most of it irrelevant to Fox. Most of it he'd probably care about far in the future when it mattered. Right now, he just wanted to be with Krystal. Not just be with her intimately, but physically. To hold her in their Lylatian home underneath rich Macbethan covers and for their face to be only microns apart from each other. And for him to whisper in her ear, "I love you."

But things weren't that way. The Lylat System was only an illusion. And deep in his heart, Fox knew that they were going to die on this alien world.

"All slaves, up." One of the human slavers commanded. The slaves stood. Fox helped Krystal to stand. She was still holding herself. Hell, Fox would be holding her if he weren't told to stand.

The human walked over to them and clasped on their wrists leather bonds with small metal knobs on them. The knobs connected with a blue strand of energy. Fox couldn't separate his hands farther than a foot.

"Up the stairs." The human pushed Fox. He almost fell on top of Krystal.

"Please." He whispered, "just hold together. They won't do that again."

She stood there not doing anything.

"Please…" he urged.

"Get moving!" the slaver drew an evil looking whip.

"O…K…" Krystal managed. She started to walk up the stairs. Fox walked not a foot behind her.

The slavers led all of the slaves in the hold to a strange chrome building. The slaves were ushered into groups of six in chambers that were blocked off by a translucent force field. They were blindfolded on the way in but had them taken off when they were in their cells.

Other humans who looked less menacing looked into the cells and seemed to examine them. They pointed to some kind of panel that was set to the right of the chamber. Fox could only guess that it had prices for each of them.

Fox crawled his way over to Krystal. She reached for him and rested her head in his chest once more. Fox held her close and whispered lies into her ear: "Everything's going to be all right. I'll be here. We're going to be fine."

And then he told her the lie of all lies: "We're going to get back home."

There was what looked like a human with two strange antennae protruding from his hair wearing a long trench coat, "Oh what are you! You've got to be kidding me! We're going to die here on this god-forsaken land!"

"Hey buddy!" Falco shouted in a rather mean tone, "Wanna' shut the hell up?"

The humanoid shut up, but Fox and everyone else knew he was right. Especially Fox. It was then that he realized that he wasn't saying these things for Krystal. He was saying them for himself. He was scared. He was genuinely afraid. Tears began to stream down Fox's face, "It's going to be ok." He whispered.

Only Krystal heard him. She looked up and wiped Fox's tears, "I know." Krystal hugged Fox around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. Fox cried silently as slowly, they were sold. First the humanoid they didn't know.

And then they wanted Slippy. Fox almost protested but there was no way he would let go of Krystal. Falco got up and said, "No! You can't take him!"

Slippy looked at him with the biggest, saddest eyes Fox had ever thought imaginable, "Fox…"

"Slippy…" Fox said. Tear returned to his face.

The humans opened the force field and changed the color of Slippy's binders. Falco jumped up and grabbed Slippy hand-in-hand, "No!" he pulled Slippy back. The human slaver pulled out his whip and beat Falco till just the sound of the whip hurt Fox's ears.

Still, against all odds. Falco had not let go.

The human slaver pulled out a wicked-looking knife, prepared to cut off Falco's arms when another human came in and said, "That won't be necessary, I'll be buying the bird."

Falco perked up immediately as if the whipping hadn't phased him, "What?"

"He's a bit damaged so I'll have to lower the price." The human explained.

"The price stays. If you want him, you're responsible for his behavior."

"475. That's the price I pay."

"500. Non-negotiable." The slaver demanded.

"Next time, don't damage your merchandise." The buyer pulled out the money and handed it to the slaver. Despite his previous protest, the slaver didn't say anything to demand the extra 25 Timonium.

"Whoa, 500? I think I'm worth at least 750- wait a minute! I'm not getting sold to _anyone_!" Falco said.

The slaver swore at Falco and changed the color of his bonds. He grabbed Falco's wrists and pulled him toward Falco's new owner. Falco gave up no fight but looked back at Fox and said, "I'll see you on the other side!" The two buyers led Falco and Slippy away to their new homes. The force field came back up and Fox was left with Krystal and the human girl.

So that was it.

Slippy.

Falco.

Gone.

Just sold, like meat.

Fox held Krystal close to him again for the next what seemed like years and lied to her again: "It's going to be all right." but he couldn't lie to her. She knew his every thought. Even if she wasn't a telepath.

So Fox decided to tell her the truth:

"I love you."

Answer to Chapter 4: "A human of _African descent_, on the Green team, was _chewing on a cigar butt_…" Sorry about the Halo characters but I'm pretty sure this one was obvious. Especially since I called him a Sergeant once. This gung-ho Marine is none other than our lovable Sergeant Avery Johnson.


	6. Chapter VI: ARAN

6. ARAN

It was destined to be a good match. Samus had heard things about this Sergeant Johnson, but never had she encountered him. She had even heard such rumors that he'd worked with the legendary Master Chief, King of Spartans. Samus couldn't wait to meet him, the Master Chief that is. She wanted to fight and beat A.J. Johnson.

The field was set up very standard: two high platforms on both the left and right wings of the arena that were good for sniping if you weren't sniped from the ground first. Raised platforms on the ends for both sides that held the flags. And an open field in the middle with little cover.

_Good_. She thought, _This'll be fun_.

Ender walked into the middle of the arena. Sgt. Johnson took a single look at the kid who wasn't even 20 yet and Samus saw the fear and honor that went in his eyes. Then again, Johnson wasn't the kind of man who would show fear. Because the next thing he did was smile an evil smile with the cigar butt just barely holding onto his mouth. The pale-faced referee was in the middle with the Card Counter. It was a strange machine that held two buttons, one pointing toward Green-Yellow-Orange and one pointing to their Red-White-Red.

Sergeant Johnson touched his side of the machine. The numbers 0, 1, and 2 flashed randomly and finally landed on 1. The crowd went crazy. Ender touched his button and the numbers eventually read 0. The crowd went crazier.

It was no secret that Green-Yellow-Orange was the favored team on Kaalin. Ix was only climbing in the ranks. The problem was that even though Ender was a good teacher and Commander, Samus didn't think he had the morale and gung-ho that Johnson led his team with. She also thought that maybe if they had another All-Star on their team, it would help.

But for the time being, Jack would have to do.

Ender headed back to Red-White-Red's dugout while Johnson selected his game card. Samus watched as Johnson picked without care and suppressed his reaction to the card.

The ex-Bounty Hunter knew that Ender was watching but she decided to say it, "Watch out. He has a good card but is making sure we don't know."

"I know." Ender replied, "Samus will be sniper. Left flank. Mal, stay with me. Jack, guard the flag."

"Don't you think it's too standard?" Mal asked, "Too easy for him to counter."

"I know. But he'll be expecting some great maneuver. We just gotta' keep our wits about us. The arena is not on our side this match." Ender said. He picked up his weapon and checked for ammunition.

"Let's go!" Jack said with some umph. He walked out onto the field and into his spot next to the Red-White-Red flag. Samus, Ender, and Mal followed seconds later. Outside, the crowd was roaring for the action to begin. Across the field, Green-Yellow-Orange was already there.

Sergeant Johnson, an Imperial Stormie, a Covenant Red Elite, and an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST). Johnson had a good team. Ender began to doubt his team's ability. Then again, none of these guys were on the official hero roster, but there's one thing he learned being a gladiator: everyone had a story.

The referee was floating around in a hovering vehicle that watched the game. He was dressed in a yellow uniform that bore the symbol of StarFleet on it, "Ready." His voice was very monotone, "3… 2… 1… Begin!"

G-Y-O's forces dashed off in four directions. Johnson and the Stormie down the middle, the Elite ran up the left ramp and the ODST up the right.

"Mal!" Ender shouted and pointed to the right.

Samus was already on her way up the left ramp. When she got to the top. The Elite was picking up the sniper rifle that was floating there ready for a gladiator to use. The alien pointed it at Samus.

She dove forward, her gun front and blazing. The Elite got out two shots before he hit the platform oozing blue blood.

"YAAAAAARGH!" he screamed. With more and more bloodshed, the crowd went ever wilder.

Samus picked up the sniper and looked below her, Johnson and the Stormie were taking on Ender with Jack as back up. Mal was on the other side waiting for the ODST to make a move before he killed him or vice versa. Samus brought the ODST's black and silver helmet into her sights and pulled the trigger. Blood spattered on the wall and the body hit the deck.

Jack heard the noise and looked up.

At that moment, the Storm Trooper carefully aimed his rifle and fired a single round that tore through the side of Jack's neck. Jack was dead before he hit the floor, blood completely covered the R-W-R platform.

Samus' first instinct was to scream out his name. But she told herself, _No, this is war_.

She aimed the rifle at the Stormie who was running for the flag. Ender put him in his sights but had Johnson to worry about. Johnson fired, Samus aimed at Johnson.

Johnson got against the wall so Samus had to aim directly down to shoot him.

Just a little further… Too far! 

Samus lost her balance and fell over the edge of the platform and right in front of Johnson.

On the Green side of the field, Mal picked up the flag and ran straight for the blood soaked Red platform. He got half-way there when suddenly the veins of the Green platform lit up and the referee announced in his boring voice, "Green-Yellow-Orange wins!"

Johnson's gun was aimed directly at Samus' head. It was of course now disabled. The man looked at Ender and said, "Hehe, didn't even have to use my Super Armor." Super Armor was a card that wouldn't allow the user's teams to take damage for 30 seconds, "Thought the great Ender Wiggin was smarter than that."

"You shoulda' used the card. You lost two good men." Ender said.

"Got plenty more where that came from." Johnson walked away.

Ender reached over and grabbed Samus' hand. He pulled her up, "You all right?"

"I'm fine." She said. Samus grabbed her gun and walked over to Jack's body. It was already being pulled off by the death patrol, "Jack…" she whispered.

"He was a good kid." Mal said, still holding the Green-Yellow-Orange flag.

"Yeah…" Ender said. He walked away.

"I'm gonna miss him." Mal said, he dropped the flag and followed Ender.

Slowly, a tear streamed down Samus' face.

Answer to Chapter 5: The humanoid with the trench coat and antennae was Elan Sleazzebaggano. Who if you don't know, is the guy in _Star Wars Episode II: Attack o' the Clones _who asks Obi-Wan Kenobi if he wants some death stix and the Ben convinces him that he wants to go home and rethink his life.


	7. Chapter VII: MCCLOUD

7. MCCLOUD

Note: there's no hidden character in this chapter. Given its shortness and the lack of ability to put a character in here for you to guess.

It was another few days, Fox's biological clock told him. Or rather, Krystal's biological clock. She had slept, Fox had not. He didn't want to be surprised when a slaver came in and sold either him or Krystal. He knew that being conscious would be scary enough.

Finally, the day came. Though it seemed like years since Falco and Slippy disappeared into this strange world, now it seemed like only yesterday that the "old" memories were dug up and made anew when the slavers opened the force field and reached for Krystal.

Fox wasn't sure what to do. Fighting back was his first and only instinct. But intellect took over and told him that fighting back would only make the inevitable harder to bear and only cause more pain for the both of them. He didn't want what happened to Falco to happen to his love. Krystal wasn't like Falco. He did what he knew he had to do.

He opened his arms and kissed her on the forehead, "Go now." He said, "I'll find you soon."

"No! No, no, no, no!" she repeatedly screamed.

"Yes." He said, "Don't worry. It'll be all right."

The slaver reached for Krystal's shoulder. Fox was no longer holding onto her. She was gripping him.

"Fox! Don't lie to me! Tell me the _truth_!"

"I'll find you." Fox said.

The slaver pulled her away from Fox.

"Don't lie!"

"I _promise_!"

She was silent. Everything stopped. Their eyes locked. Krystal let go of Fox's arms. The slaver pulled her lightly away. Their eyes held together until finally, she was out of sight.

Fatigue set in.

Fox McCloud slept.

He dreamed dark dreams.

Answer to Chapter 6: "The _pale-faced_ referee…" so there's a lot of pale-faced people in Sci-Fi… "He was dressed in a _yellow uniform_ that bore the symbol of _StarFleet _on it…" OK, now if you didn't get it then, especially you Trekkies, this was obviously our second favorite android (next to C-3PO) Data.


	8. Chapter VIII: SPARTAN 117

8. SPARTAN-117

John wasn't a mind reader. But he had read of the histories of the early United States of America and despite their emphasis on freedom, they were one of the latest civilized nations to abolish slavery. Their treatment of African slaves and their abduction of them greatly resembled exactly this.

They had first taken John down to a hold in the bottom of the strange and advanced ship. John resisted violently, not sure exactly why. He was certain the ship had already left Earth, where he belonged. So they used their strange weapons and bound him in a special hold where he was chained down. John could barely move any of his limbs.

Without anything to do he did the only thing he had a choice of doing: sleeping.

When he finally awoke, John was unchained and put at gun-point. The weapons disabled his own. They could certainly vaporize him. They jabbed him in the back with their weapons. He took it as the notion to move. Eventually they put a black bag over his Mjolnir helmet. He got the idea that they didn't want him to know where they were bringing him.

When the slavers took the bag off, he found out that he was in a building with tight passageways and strange cases that looked like they had a Covenant force field to keep inside the slaves they held inside them. He figured that his prison would be one of these.

He was right.

The Spartan waited in the cell in full Mjolnir armor for almost two minutes when outside his case, dozens of people, (human beings!) were crowding around him!

Theories began swimming about John's head. Perhaps these aliens created worlds with other humans to use as slaves. They watched the humans and of course discovered that the Spartans were enhanced in body and mind so of course could do much more work. They must figure that John would be a great addition to any of their, of course, humongous fields.

John wasn't looking forward to being a slave. He didn't fight the most powerful-er, second most powerful- alien empire to become a slave. Somehow, he had to find out how to capture one of these weapons and one of these ships and make it back to Earth. He had to defeat the Covenant.

Suddenly, John realized that he could understand their speech. It was English! They were bidding for his price.

"200 Timonium!"

"Are you mad? 800 Timonium!"

"950!"

"1000 Timonium!"

"I'll pay you 2000! Timonium!"

"Forty-five hundred!" one man finally shouted.

John saw him. He was largely built and ornately dressed. This culture seemed a combination of Egyptian and Greek dress. A lot of togas and gold. He wore a headdress that told John: I'm rich but not too rich, powerful but not too powerful… obey me.

His advanced hearing picked up someone whispering, "The governor."

_So… that explains it._ John thought.

"Sold! To governor Xil!" the slaver that brought John in said.

On his way out, John caught the eye of a very sad looking creature that seemed a combination of man and fox lying in his cell. He saw desperation. John kept that picture in the back of his mind.

The next thing he knew, John was back with the bag over his head and outside. He was being brought to this Xil's home.

He was ready. For everything and anything.


	9. Chapter IX: KRYSTAL

9. KRYSTAL

Had Krystal not been raped, tortured, and treated like a sponge, she'd have otherwise found her present condition rather enjoyable. The human who'd bought her was named Shok. He was short, as humans come. But he had quite a few body guards with some pretty heavy-looking weapons.

Eventually, Krystal found herself at Shok's ranch. It had a rather large residential building and what she assumed to be fenced in slave quarters next to it. There were fields of some kind of blue metal or gem to the left of the house which Krystal could only assume was the reason Shok was rich in the first place.

Running through her mind throughout the entire endeavor was of course, if one of these men would rape her again. Although they seemed much more civilized than the slavers did.

When they did get to her new home, the Kaalin sun was going down and Krystal's clock began adjusting to Kaalin time. Already she was tired beyond belief. Krystal assumed Shok would talk to her later because he didn't say a word to her the entire three-hour trip from the slavers to here. Finally, one of the body guards told Krystal to head toward the slave quarters and tell somebody she's new. Seeing as this was common sense, Krystal felt the need to ask a question, "What're they going to do if I tell them that?"

She read into his thoughts and heard, _Well, they might rape you…_

The vixen shuddered at the thought when he _said_, "Show you to your room and give you the cinch."

Krystal headed toward the slave quarters. There was a guard at the front door who asked her, "Who are you?"

Krystal told him exactly what the body guard said to say.

"New? New slave?"

Unaccustomed to the term "slave" being used in her context, Krystal had to force herself to say, "Yes."

"Head inside. I'll alert Solo." The guard yawned and pressed a button that opened the door and allowed her inside. Krystal assumed that she'd be unable to get out of the building without permission first. She was wondering of course who this "Solo" character was. She assumed she'd find out when she got inside.

Krystal walked through the doorway and the guard said before the door closed, "Down the hall. Seventh door on your right is your room."

"Thanks." Krystal said. She walked down the hall to her new room.

The hall of the slave quarters looked like it was made of sandstone. The floors and the doors appeared to be built into the rock as well as the lights overhead. Some of the lights were out, but most were in working order. When she got to her room, the door was like the others: metallic grey with a bunch of groves she assumed were for decoration. There was no handle; only a button next to the doorway that had a red light and a green light on it.

Krystal thought it was a button so she went to press the green button assuming it'd let her in. She lifted her right hand and she first noticed it: a bracelet. It was metal and had a large link on it that was Orange, Red, and then White. It had her name on it next to Shok's name: Krystal-Shok Assumaderi. Assuming that was Shok's last name.

_I don't remember them putting these on…_

Instead of pushing the green light, she skimmed the bracelet over it. The red light switched off and the green light on and instantly the door opened. The room was small. Almost a quarter of the size of the room she'd had on the _Great Fox_. It had a single bed, a small closed bathroom, and a dresser. Krystal used the scanner to open the drawers. She found that most of them were empty except for the top drawer which had a black jump-suit in it.

Without warning, her door opened and in walked a human wearing a black jumpsuit that matched her own. The human was tall and had what Krystal thought were handsome features if Shok's were ugly. He walked with a commanding gait and a very ostentatious air. It was as if the entire galaxy needed to know he entered the room. Krystal took this to also mean he disappeared quite often and when he wanted to.

"Good evening." He said. His voice was like that of a lion.

"Hello…" Krystal said. She compared her kitten voice to his own.

"I'm sure you're quite scared at what you've recently experienced." He paused, "Especially you being a young, attractive… virgin?"

Krystal shot him a look that could've killed without the mental backup needed, "I've only been here for less than 10 minutes and already you're discussing sex with me?"

"That's not what I meant." The man chuckled lightly, "I'm sorry. I'm Captain Han Solo. You can call me whatever you want; Han, Captain, Solo, Captain Solo. Look, I didn't mean to offend you. Sit down." He said it more as a command than an offer. However, Krystal slowly took a seat on her bed.

"I can see some things have happened to you. And well, I just want you to know you're among friends that have experience the same things you have." Captain Solo said.

"You weren't raped." Krystal said challengingly.

"I have a daughter." Captain Solo was silent for a long time. It sunk deep into Krystal.

A daughter… before she was taken by the slave traders, her only desire was to have a child with Fox McCloud. Now, she couldn't imagine bearing a child in this world. Never mind trying to figure out where Fox was.

"I didn't really plan this out. But I just wanted to let you know that now, you're a gladiator. So forget about the whole thing that happened before. It's not happening again and thinking about it will only bring you to the brink of insanity." Solo had begun.

"Wait… I'm a gladiator?" Krystal asked. She had let Solo's words sink in to her. He was right after all, remembering will only be painful.

"You were bought by Shok from slave traders to fight in arenas to win him money to buy more gladiators so sooner or later he'll be able to compete in the Imperial Coliseum. It's every land owner's dream. So, your new uniform is the black jumpsuit. You're required to wear it all day according to Galactic Law. On the battlefield you can wear your personalized armor. And of course for showers, you can be naked. Tomorrow, we eat breakfast at 7 and practice is at 8."

"All right." Krystal said. She had put all of the information he told her into the back of her mind for later. For now, all she wanted to do was be with Fox. Since it was impossible, all she could do was think about him, go over the images of him in her mind.

Suddenly, her door opened and in walked what looked like a human with a very wrinkled forehead and dark skin. He wore the same black jumpsuit that Solo was wearing. His voice was very, very deep, "Captain Solo. Linda requests your presence."

"I'll be there in a minute." Solo said. The creature left.

"I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow." Captain Solo said as he turned to walk out the door.

"Wait." Krystal said, stopping him.

He turned back and looked at her expectantly.

"What's your daughter's name?" shed asked.

Han seemed to think a moment before responding, "Jaina. She was beautiful. And fierce. Her uncle called her the 'Sword of the Jedi' once. He was right in doing so." Captain Solo left without another word.

Krystal's mind seemed to be overloaded. She laid down and fell asleep with the pictures of Fox and their daughter in her mind.

_Jaina…_

Answer to Chapter 8: Now if you didn't get this one, I'm going to slap you. Most obviously, the only other character who I described without saying his name was Fox McCloud who is already a main character. Ok, yeah so I'm tired and lazy. Shut up! It's 2 AM!


	10. Chapter X: REYNOLDS

10. REYNOLDS

Mal was a bit ashamed of himself after what happened in the game with Green-Yellow-Orange. How could he have been so slow? Maybe it was the route he took, directly through the center of the arena. It was a miracle in itself that Johnson hadn't shot him in the back though. Perhaps God was smiling on him for once.

No. Not a smile. A smile would be complete freedom with his entire crew back on _Serenity_. This was a smirk. Still, smirks from the almighty pleased him nonetheless. The trip back to the Ix estate took almost two days.

On their way back, Ix stopped by the slave trader; to buy a replacement for Jack, Mal assumed. The thing was that Ix had plenty of gladiators to choose from if he just wanted a replacement. It would've been easy as pie to just pick one and say, "Go play."

Ix must've heard that they got a special delivery. After all, that's how he was taken, Samus said. Ix and about a hundred other rich nobles heard about the new shipment of the crew of the famed renegade vessel _Serenity_, they all rushed to the trader to barter for them. Ix paid the most for Ender of course, being one of the best commanders in military history. Samus was just good for her shooting skills. Mal was a soldier and a leader, a wild card in Ix's case. Mal could have been a flop or a hit. He ended up the latter.

When the cargo got on board the transport vehicle headed home, a vulpine in a white flight jacket was brought aboard the low-altitude transport. Normally everyone would be silent, but for the occasion, Mal decided to introduce himself to the newcomer.

"Hey, critter. Name's Mal. _Captain _Mal Reynolds. This here's Sammy-"

"Samus Aran." She corrected him while speaking to the vulpine at the same time.

"And this here's Admiral Ender." Mal said motioning to Ender behind him.

Ender held out his hand, "Ender Wiggin. The 'Admiral' is rather formal."

The vulpine took Ender's hand and shook it, "Fox McCloud. _Captain_."

"Fox McCloud?" Ender said, "Aren't you the mercenary from the Lylat System?" Samus asked.

"World 12. Good people there. Make good gladiators." Ender chimed in.

"World 12? What's that?" Fox asked.

_Oh great, now Ender has to give the introduction speech…_

"I… I'll tell you later." Ender said, "When we get back to the estate." He seemed a bit worried.

Mal looked back to Fox. Fox hung his head down and stared at the dark floor of the transport.

"Your team sold too?" Mal asked him after a long pause.

"Huh?" Fox asked.

"Your team. You led the mercenary team called StarFox, right?" Mal asked again.

"Yeah. Our mentor retired recently when he rose to the position of General in the Cornerian army. The four of us were on a mission when we got abducted. Falco and Slippy were sold first. Then Krystal… then me…" Fox turned away from the other gladiators and closed his eyes.

Mal sighed. He looked at Samus. She looked at him expectantly and nodded toward Fox twice. It pained Mal to tell the story of his own abduction and that of his team. But every time he told it, the pain lessened and he felt better about it. Besides, Samus would be very angry at him if he didn't tell it. Samus was someone you did not want angry at you.

"You know…" Mal began, "Where I came from, I was a mercenary. Like you. I had a team and a ship. Her name was _Serenity. _The Cuotl took us when we were on a mission. And we couldn't do anything. They just took us. We were all sold one by one to different nobles and leaders. I guess I got lucky. I was one of the first sold."

Fox looked at Mal after he paused for a long time, "Your last name's Reynolds?"

Mal nodded, "Yep." He saw the connection Fox was obviously making.

Pause. "That's interesting."

Mal smiled. He leaned back and drifted into sleep.

Hours later, Samus shoke him awake and said, "Mal, we're here." She stood and walked out the back of the transport. Fox followed her. Ender and Mal came out last. The Non-slaves came out the front of the vehicle except for a driver who drove the transport to its garage. Ix and his aides escorted him into the mansion. Samus motioned for Fox to follow her inside the slave quarters. They passed a couple of other slaves. Most wore white jumpsuits. Fox noticed one red-haired girl wore a black jumpsuit. He wondered who she was.

Samus led Fox to his new room. Mal and Ender followed inside. Ender told Fox about his coded bracelet and showed him the black jumpsuit in his drawer, "This signifies that you're a gladiator." He said, "Regular slaves wear white ones.

"OK, listen; this is what I figured out from some careful observation. The Cuotl, the ones that stole us from our homes and took us here, somehow, travel through dimensions or create universes that are brand new. They use these new universes to birth civilizations with slaves and a few primitive tools. The slaves first survive. They form a family. Soon they birth generations and have children. Dominoes fall and eventually an entire civilization is formed. History progresses, technology advances, and after thousands of years, the Cuotl have a new baby civilization that spans Solar Systems and they can invade and take slaves as they please. They use the slaves for economic, entertainment, and political value.

"We, the gladiators," he motioned to all of them, "are used mostly for entertainment. But also for politics. The governors like to trade worlds and resources by seeing who has the best gladiator team. Gamblers like to get in the game and see how far they can get in the same way. Few get far like that. Although, it's not like any of us have a choice. Most die in the games. We do it to survive."

Ender stopped and let it sink in.

"Breakfast at 7:30 tomorrow morning." Samus told him in a softer tone. They left the room.

Before Mal left, he looked back. Fox held his… face in his hands.

"You're among friends you know." He said.

Fox paused.

"Thanks."

Mal left the room.

Answer to Chapter 9: Now, this one was a little harder but I still think you Trekkies aught to get this one. "Wrinkled forehead…" "Deep voice…" Who's our favorite TNG Klingon? Lieutenant Worf of course!


End file.
